Friday, May 4, 2012

The peaceful protest before a bloody confrontation

Despite stern warnings from military on Thursday, Egyptian activists
marched on on Friday to defence ministry to peacefully protest last week
deaths and demand immediate transition to civilian rule before the day
turned bloody

Thousands of protesters set out for Egypt'sMinistry of Defence on
Friday to demand that the country's military rulers abdicate power in
favour of a civilian authority.

Marchers set out from the Fetah Mosque in Cairo's Ramses district
following Friday noon prayers, which ended with worshippers chanting,
"Down, down with the military regime."

Several political groups organised the march to the ministry, located
in the capital's Abbasiya district, where activists – from both Salafist
and revolutionary groups – have been staging a sit-in protest since
last Saturday. Groups that took part in organising Friday's march
included the April 6 Youth Movement; the Revolution Youth Coalition; the
National Front for Justice and Democracy; and the Youth for Justice and
Freedom.

Most of those who participated in the march, however, appeared to do so
on an individual basis rather than as part of a particular party or
movement.

Along with the immediate handover of power to a civilian authority,
marchers' demands included the amendment of Article 28 of the
constitutional declaration (issued by the ruling military council in the
wake of last year's revolution and approved via popular referendum) and
the resignation of the heads of the military-appointed Supreme
Presidential Elections Commission.

Members of the "Ultras" football groups were also out in large numbers,
loudly singing popular revolutionary songs to energise protesters.

"Where are the Baltagiya [thugs]?" marchers chanted. "The Revolutionaries are here!"

Despite the jubilant tone, there were palpable feelings of anger and
sorrow over the recent death of at least 11 protesters, most at the
hands of unidentified assailants. An Ain Shams University medical
student carried a placard bearing the images of two fellow students –
Alaa Abdel Hadi and Abul-Hassan Ibrahim – both killed in the violence on
Tuesday.

While the health ministry puts the death toll at 11, Mohamed Kamel
Maamoun, 20, who has volunteered at a makeshift field hospital since
Saturday, said that by Tuesday evening at least 21 people had been
killed. Injuries, meanwhile, were in the hundreds, he said.

Maamoun went on to voice frustration with the residents of Abbasiya.
""They don't understand anything," he complained. "They see the
protesters as thugs and troublemakers."

Local residents, meanwhile, peered down at the march from their balconies.

"Come down, come down, before Egypt falls with us and with you," protesters shouted up to them.

Mervat Moussa, 30, who led parts of the march, stressed that she does
not belong to any particular political orientation. "Most of those you
see here are not serving any personal interests," she said, going on
point out those that she felt were "self-interested" political actors
groups.

She went on to cite recent examples of what she deemed "failures" by
Egypt's ruling military council, which she described as an "enemy" of
the Egyptian people.

"I'll join any protest, whether it's with supporters of [disqualified
Salafist presidential candidate] Hazem Abu-Ismail or otherwise," Moussa
said. "I'll stand with anyone whose blood has been shed due to the
military's failure to protect protesters."

Protester Mohamed Sadek, 50, said he had been moved to join Friday's
march by the thought of "the parents of these young students and martyrs
killed in the violence, who must feel that their children's blood was
shed for nothing."

On Thursday, the ruling military council issued a statement warning
protesters against staging protests at or near the defence ministry.
Marcher Omneya Ahmed, 30, however, believes the stern warning ended up
working in favour of the march, in which hundreds of thousands appeared
to take part.

"We're not going to the ministry to attack it," she said. "The people are going there to take a stand, not wage war."

As marchers approached the ministry building, they began chanting again and again: "This time it's for real."

Clashes were reported soon after the first wave of marchers arrived to
the area in the mid-afternoon, while eyewitnesses at the scene reported
hearing gunshots with increasing frequency.